


Seder House Rules

by girlintheglen



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 21:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6627580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlintheglen/pseuds/girlintheglen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A gathering of strangers for a most holy occasion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seder House Rules

A house with lights flickering was the only habitation they had seen for many miles. The road was dark and narrow, winding its way through forests. Napoleon Solo needed to find a place to stop, a safe spot to get some sleep and hopefully some kind of medical aid for his partner.

Illya lay in the back seat, his shoulder bleeding from a bullet that had struck only muscle, but was painful and potentially dangerous nonetheless.

"I think this place might work Illya. Hang in there, we'll see if someone in here can at least tell us how far we need to go to find a hospital."

Illya groaned, the only sound he cared to make at the moment. He had no choice but to trust his partner and the inherent good he hoped to find within the little house.

Inside an old woman peeked through her window as a car pulled up near the front door. It had been many years since fear would seize at her heart when someone came to her door, but now it came again, just for a split second.

"Jacob, someone is outside, in a car. I think he is going to come to our door." The tremble in Ilse's voice prompted her husband to take her hand and squeeze it, for reassurance.

"We have nothing to fear, and if God has brought a traveler to our door then so be it. We shall share the seder with a stranger who is perhaps more in need of it than we are." He smiled at her, and in an instant her fear was gone, replaced by the image of a young man once more; her Jacob.

The knock on the door was met almost immediately as Jacob first bowed his head to say a short prayer and then swung open the portal to his home.

"Welcome stranger, how may I assist you?" That caught Napoleon off guard, but he was thankful for the friendly greeting.

"Hello, my name is Napoleon Solo and my partner and I are in need of some help. He's been wounded… shot." That caused Jacob's brow to furrow.

"Are you criminals?" Blunt and to the point. He had no time for excuses from anyone.

"No sir. In fact…' Napoleon reached into his suit jacket to retrieve his UNCLE identification.

"We are agents of the United Network for Law and Enforcement. We were taking in some dangerous men when we were ambushed. My partner is in the back seat and he's been bleeding. If there's a hospital close by…"

"Nonsense. Bring him in. Ilse, get some water boiling and gather our medical supplies." Jacob turned back to see Napoleon helping Illya out of the back seat. The blond was limp now, the shock of blood loss beginning to set in.

"Thank you sir…''

"Jacob Bernstein. You are welcome in my home, and as this is the evening of our traditional seder observance, you are welcome also to sit at table with us and partake. Are you a man of faith?" Napoleon blanched slightly at the question. Sometimes he did have a faith in the God of his youth, although his life as an adult made it difficult at times to reconcile one with the other.

"I have been, and sometimes still am." Jacob smiled.

"Ah, an honest man then. You and your friend are welcome here. Ilse was a nurse once, before the war…' His memories went to the pretty girl who had stolen his heart all of those years ago. That was before the atrocities began and they had fled to America. So many of their family and friends had not been so fortunate.

"Your friend is good hands. Napoleon… a big name." Now Napoleon smiled, remembering all of the times he had been forced to prove that he was worthy of that larger than life name.

"Yes, sometimes it is. We don't want to interfere with your…"

"Seder. It is our tradition to remember the journey out of Egypt and offer our thanks for that deliverance. We have shared this with many of our friends and acquaintances over the years; those of our faith and others as well. We only ask that you observe with us in a spirit of honesty, and as symbolized by the broken matzah, humility in the face of our humanity.

Napoleon was touched at the invitation, and found himself anxious to be a part of this ancient tradition. In his world the uncertainty of life made a man callous at times, he spent his days challenging fate and destiny. This seder seemed the perfect antidote to all of that. He wondered about Illya, if he would also participate.

"If you will excuse me, I'd like to check on my friend." Jacob directed him to the room where Ilse had already removed the bullet and was stitching the wound closed. Illya was unconscious, courtesy of some ether left over from other covert operations. Illya was breathing normally, letting Napoleon himself breath easy as he turned and headed back to the living room where Jacob was seated.

In front of him was a small table where individual bowls held a variety of things, none of them very familiar to Napoleon. He let Jacob explain the sequence of the ritual as Ilse returned and indicated she was also ready to begin.

"I do not think your friend will be awake for some time, but we will pray for him and consider that he has also been liberated from the pain of that bullet. He asked me to save him some matzah." That made her laugh a little, and Napoleon saw something of the young nurse that had captivated Jacob's heart.

Jacob began with the recitation of kiddush, explaining the holiness of the passover to his guest. He poured a cup of wine which would be the first of four cups that evening at the Seder. The four cups represented four expressions of deliverance in connection with the liberation from Egypt. Jacob went on to explain that the Children of Israel had four great merits in their character, even while in exile: They did not change their Hebrew names; they continued to speak their own language, Hebrew; they remained highly moral; they remained loyal to one another.

Napoleon was amazed at the precision of the ceremony, and at Jacob's sense of belonging. UNCLE was his only point of reference for that type of identity, and Napoleon wondered whether or not it would always be enough.

They continued on, purifying their hands, eating the boiled onions and the saltwater, symbolizing the tears of the Hebrews while in captivity. More wine, more washing of hands until finally the bitter herbs were placed between two pieces of broken matzah. This was something Napoleon knew about, although he couldn't remember why. Funny that some things could be familiar without a memory of how.

"Hullo…" It was Illya, groggy and only partly aware of where he was.

"Oh hey there partner, let me help you." Napoleon got up and went to his friend, helping him to the table. Illya looked around at the various elements of the seder, and eyeing a plate full of boiled eggs he started to reach for one.

"Oh, no wait.. Illya. We're.. um, this is a Passover seder." The blue eyes nearly crossed as he contemplated what was being said.

"Oh. Sholem aleykhem." He bowed his head slightly, a sudden homage to the sacred nature of the seder.

"Aleikhem shalom… upon you be peace." Jacob was pleased at the blond's greeting, amused at the look on Napoleon's face.

"I see your friend is familiar with our traditions." Napoleon was certain that he would never fully uncover all that Illya knew or had experienced.

"Yes, it would appear so."

Illya smiled, the drug still permeating some of his thinking but not enough to dispel his hunger and the sighting of a chicken resting on a bed of herbs.

"Do we eat now?" Napoleon's head bent low, not sure whether to be embarrassed or not. Jacob laughed out loud. The seder was holy, but his guest was not being sacrilegious in any way, only hungry and under the influence of ether.

"Yes, it is time to eat. Please, have an egg and Ilse will prepare your plate."

And so it went, these four unlikely participants of a holy Passover Seder. Offering a kindness to strangers was paramount to the Jews and this couple took seriously the command to offer hospitality to those in need. Certainly to also share their faith with two men whose lives appeared to be covered in the grime of a world without God was something ordained by the Almighty.

The evening progressed amiably while the aging couple shared their experiences in the world as it was just prior to the war. It was only by the grace of God that they had escaped Germany and found this little house on the outskirts of Minneapolis. They were isolated by choice, a luxury sought after years of living in the city in the midst of other immigrants. They would live out their lives in this place, closer to God they thought, and free of the fear and anxiety of a city.

Illya was lucid by the end of the evening, transfixed by the stories he heard as his own history intertwined with theirs. Napoleon couldn't understand the idea of being liberated from an oppressive enemy, or the eloquence of a ritual that reminded a nation that was now scattered around the globe that they had once been the apple of God's eye. Perhaps they still were.

Who was he to judge?


End file.
